''Parade'' was an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 700 newspapers in the United States until 2022. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., ''Parade'' had a circulation of 32 million and a readership of 54.1 million. Anne Krueger has been the magazine's
editor
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...
since 2015.
The Nov. 13, 2022 issue was the final edition printed and inserted in newspapers nationwide. According to its final edition, ''Parade'' will continue as an e-magazine on newspaper websites.
Company history
The magazine was founded by
Marshall Field III
Marshall Field III (September 28, 1893 – November 8, 1956) was an American investment banker, publisher, racehorse owner/breeder, philanthropist, grandson of businessman Marshall Field, heir to the Marshall Field department store fortune, a ...
in 1941, with the first issue published May 31 as ''Parade: The Weekly Picture Newspaper'' for 5 cents per copy. It sold 125,000 copies that year. By 1946, ''Parade'' had achieved a circulation of 3.5 million.
John Hay Whitney
John Hay Whitney (August 17, 1904 – February 8, 1982) was U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the ''New York Herald Tribune'', and president of the Museum of Modern Art. He was a member of the Whitney family.
Early life
Whit ...
, publisher of the ''
New York Herald Tribune
The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...
'', bought ''Parade'' in 1958.
Booth Newspapers
MLive Media Group, originally known as Booth Newspapers, or Booth Michigan, is a media group that produces newspapers in the state of Michigan. Founded by George Gough Booth with his two brothers, Booth Newspapers was sold to Advance Publicatio ...
purchased it in 1973. Booth was purchased by
Advance Publications
Advance Publications, Inc., doing business as Advance, is an American media company owned by the descendants of S.I. Newhouse Sr., Donald Newhouse and S.I. Newhouse Jr. It owns a large number of subsidiary companies, including Condé Nast, an ...
in 1976, and ''Parade'' became a separate operating unit within Advance.
In 2014, Athlon Media Group (later called AMG/Parade and now known as Parade Media) purchased it from
Advance Publications
Advance Publications, Inc., doing business as Advance, is an American media company owned by the descendants of S.I. Newhouse Sr., Donald Newhouse and S.I. Newhouse Jr. It owns a large number of subsidiary companies, including Condé Nast, an ...
.
In 2022, The Arena Group (formerly The Maven), which also operates Sports Illustrated, TheStreet and numerous other brands, bought Parade from Athlon for $16 million as a mix of cash and equity.
Publishing schedule
Beginning on the weekend of December 28, 2019, ''Parade'' changed its publishing schedule to skip up to six weekends a year, planning to publish combined holiday issues. The first such combined publication was a Christmas-themed issue published the weekend of December 21, 2019. The magazine published the weekend of April 4, 2020 also covered the weekend of April 11; Easter was April 12. No magazine was published on the weekend of May 2, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The magazine published the weekend of May 16 also covered the weekend of May 23; Memorial Day was May 25. The magazine published the weekend of June 27 also covered the weekend of July 4,
Independence Day
An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
. The magazine published the weekend of August 29 also covered the weekend of September 5;
Labor Day
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...
was September 7. The magazine published the weekend of December 19 also covered the weekend of December 26. In 2021, the magazine was not scheduled to be published the weekends of April 3, May 29, July 3, July 31, September 4 or December 25.
In September 2022, The Arena Group announced that ''Parade'' would end print publication in November, but would continue in its online incarnation. The final printed edition, initially planned for November 6, ran November 13.
Distribution
Throughout 2016,
Gannett Company
Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.USA Weekend'', the most direct competitor to ''Parade'' until its December 2014 discontinuation, added ''Parade'' to many of its Sunday newspapers as a replacement.
Parade Digital Partners is a distribution network that includes the website Parade.com and more than 700 of the magazine's partner newspaper websites. Parade Digital Partners has a reach of more than 30 million monthly unique visitors (comScore Q1 2014).
Features
The magazine typically has one main feature article, often a smaller feature article, and a number of regular columns. There is also advertising for consumer products, sometimes in the print edition appearing with clippable coupons or tear-off business reply cards.
* "Ask Marilyn" by Marilyn vos Savant: Vos Savant answers questions from readers, from brainteasers to explanations of illogical customs, advice, or legitimate philosophical questions. Occasionally she will pose a brainteaser of her own or poll her readers.
* ''Cartoon Parade'': Panel cartoons by various creators, including
Dave Coverly
Dave Coverly (born 1964) is the creator of the single-panel comic ''Speed Bump''.
He grew up in Plainwell, Michigan, USA, and graduated from Eastern Michigan University (EMU) in Ypsilanti with a degree in philosophy. At EMU, he worked for the st ...
, Carla Ventresca,
Dan Piraro
Daniel Charles Piraro (born 1958) is a painter, illustrator, and cartoonist best known for his syndicated cartoon panel ''Bizarro''. Piraro's cartoons have been reprinted in 16 book collections (as of 2012). He has also written three books of pro ...
, and Gary McCoy. By 2016, due to the expense and lack of interest, these had been dropped.
* "In Step With" by
James Brady
James Scott Brady (August 29, 1940 – August 4, 2014) was an American public official who served as assistant to the U.S. president and the seventeenth White House Press Secretary, serving under President Ronald Reagan. In 1981, Brady b ...
: Celebrity interview column which ceased after Brady's 2009 death.
* “Intelligence Report": A guide to health, life, money, entertainment, and more
* Interviews have included such celebrities as Steve Carell,
Jimmy Fallon
James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an American comedian, television host, actor, and writer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' and as the host of the late-night talk show ''The Ton ...
Katy Perry
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...
Laugh Parade
''Laugh Parade'' was a group of weekly gag cartoons written by Bunny Hoest and drawn by John Reiner. It ran in '' Parade'', a Sunday newspaper magazine supplement.
''Laugh Parade'' displayed three or four single-panel cartoons, one of which was ' ...
John Reiner
John Reiner (born 1956) is a cartoonist who collaborates with writer Bunny Hoest on three cartoon series: '' The Lockhorns'', syndicated by King Features, and ''Laugh Parade'' and '' Howard Huge'' (both for ''Parade'' magazine).
Life and career
...
* " Numbrix": Also by Marilyn vos Savant, Numbrix is a simple puzzle game in which the reader arranges the numbers 1 to 81 in a continuous path that fits into a 9×9 square grid. Numbrix was introduced in July 2008 (originally as a 7×7 puzzle). In addition to the weekly print version, vos Savant also produces daily Numbrix puzzles for Parade's Web site. Since 2014, Parade's site has also published a much more difficult variant, " Jadium" (formerly "Snakepit"), by Jeff Marchant.
* "Our Towns" is a regular feature written by journalists from ''Parade'' newspaper partners.
* "The Parade High School All-America Teams": This sports franchise honors as All-Americans the best U.S. high school athletes in boys and girls basketball, football, and boys and girls soccer. ''Parade'' began its series in 1957 with its boys basketball honors, and expanded to football six years later. Girls basketball was added in 1977, boys soccer in 1979, and girls soccer in 1993. In 2010, ''Parade'' introduced its All-America Service Team, which honors high-school students for commitment to service and volunteerism.
* " Walter Scott's Personality Parade" by Walter Scott (a pseudonym, originally used by Lloyd Shearer and now by a rotating group of edit staffers): In Q&A sessions, celebrities often discuss some project or movie which is just about to be released.
* "Views," an editorial column by various authors, including CNN political analyst David Gergen and Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Connie Schultz.
* "Keeping Up with Youth" (1960–70s)
* "Fresh Voices": A former column where teenage readers would give their opinions on a different topic. Daria, from the MTV series of the same name, would frequently appear among them, giving a sarcastic opinion.
Special editions
* "What People Earn", an annual, typically early spring
* "Where America Lives" is an ongoing thematic feature
* "What America Eats" is presented seasonally throughout the year
* "The Giving Issue" is typically in the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend
Publishing lag time
The magazine had a lag time to publication of about ten days, which caused the magazine to print statements that were out-of-date by the time ''Parade'' was publicly available in a weekend newspaper.
The January 6, 2008 edition cover and main article asked whether
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...
was "America's best hope against
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
," after her December 27, 2007
assassination
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...
. In response to reader and media complaints (and besides individual newspapers noting the discrepancy to prevent reader confusion, as the magazine had an additional week of lag time due to the holiday season), ''Parade'' stated on their website:
A similar incident occurred in the February 11, 2007 issue when Walter Scott's "Personality Parade" reported that Barbaro, an American thoroughbred
racehorse
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...
and winner of the 2006
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...
, was in a stable condition. Barbaro was
euthanized
Animal euthanasia ( euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditi ...
thirteen days earlier, on January 29, 2007.
On April 27, 2014, Walter Scott's "Personality Parade" reported that Joby Ogwyn would BASE jump in a wingsuit from the summit of Mount Everest live on the
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
in May 2014. However, before the edition appeared in print, the government of Nepal closed Mount Everest to climbers because of an avalanche on April 18, 2014 that killed 16
Sherpas
The Sherpa are one of the Tibetan ethnic groups native to the most mountainous regions of Nepal, Tingri County in the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Himalayas. The term ''sherpa'' or ''sherwa'' derives from the Sherpa language words ("east") ...
, including five Sherpas working for the Discovery Channel in advance of Ogwyn's planned jump, hastening the cancellation of the special.
The January 16, 2022 edition of the magazine featured a cover story about actress Betty White, whose 100th birthday would have been the next day on January 17. She unexpectedly died at the end of 2021 on December 31 (a
New Year's Eve
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
Friday), leaving not only the regular lag time, but holiday season lag time preserving what was then an erroneous feature and requiring newspaper disclosures of the issue.